[46]“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 383 seq.
[47]Native bread. “The chief corn of the country is ‘teff’ and ‘dágousha,’ if, indeed, we may venture to include these under the head of corn; for they both resemble different sorts of grass, and the seed is not larger than rape or canary seed. Of each of these there are various qualities, esteemed according to their colour, white, red, or black. White ‘teff’ bread is preferred by all natives even to wheat bread. . . . The ‘teff’ is considered by the Abyssinians wholesome and digestible; but so far from being satisfied of this, I am doubtful of its containing much nutritious property; and as for its taste, only fancy yourself chewing a piece of sour sponge, and you will have a good idea of what is considered the best bread in Abyssinia.” (Parkyns, “Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 198-200.)
[48]In other parts of Abyssinia “there are also two kinds, one a very large one and another of Jersey size, that show absolutely no trace of an Eastern origin, and are as straight-backed as any English short-horn.” (“Modern Abyssinia,” by Augustus Wylde. Methuen, 1901.)
[49]“Life in Abyssinia,” p. 259.
[50]I do not know whether the women drink much tedj, but even the ladies of the land did so in Bruce’s time. He was in Gondar when “Ozoro Esther’s sister, the Iteghe’s” (queen-mother’s) “youngest daughter was married to Powussen, the governor of Begemder. The king gave her large districts of land in that province, and Ras Michael a large portion of gold, muskets, cattle, and horses.” On this occasion “the Ras, Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash entertained all Gondar. A vast number of cattle were slaughtered every day, and the whole town was one great market: the common people, in every street, appeared laden with pieces of raw beef, while drink circulated in like profusion. The Ras insisted upon Bruce’s dining with him every day. After dinner they slipped away to parties of ladies, where anarchy prevailed as completely as at the house of the Ras. All the married women ate, drank and smoked like the men; in fact it is impossible to convey to the English reader, in terms of proper decency, any idea of this bacchanalian scene” (Head’s “Life of Bruce,” pp. 297, 298). In Parkyns’s time a wedding-feast was an orgy of the same kind for all classes and both sexes. And as there is a complete absence of gêne in the conduct of modern Abyssinian women in other respects, I have little doubt that they still favour the tedj when the mood prompts them.
[51]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii. p. 27.
[52]“Asked about the trade prospects in Abyssinia and the projected American commercial mission, Mr. MacMillan said, ‘The greater part of the trade of Abyssinia is already in American hands. The principal import is white cotton sheeting, which every Abyssinian wears, all of which comes from the United States. I do not see that there is much possibility of further development in the trade as far as this sheeting—which is everywhere known as Amerikani—is concerned; the supply has already reached its maximum. There may be some possibilities in the case of oil, which at present comes from Russia. As a matter of fact there is no money in the country.” (Egyptian Gazette, October 21, 1903.)
[53]Quoted in “Abyssinia Described,” by J. C. Hotten, p. 129.
[54]Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 63.
[55]“Abyssinia,” p. 124.